Dionte Berry
Staff Writer
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Murray State’s Art 399 is a course meant to prepare students for their art career, and one of the main ways Timothy Michael Martin, associate professor of art and design, implements this is through an exhibit.
By allowing students to fashion the exhibit Professional Blend IX, they generate the skills needed to move forward and be successful. They work together to properly install pieces in the Clara M. Eagle Upper Gallery, with various types of multimedia art.
Martin has had plenty of experience with helping students create Professional Blend IX.
“Each semester I create room in the gallery exhibition schedule to allow for the students enrolled in my professional practices course to have the hands-on practical experience of installing their artworks in a group exhibition that they arrange,” Martin said.
Beyond being able to create art, artists need to know how to display their art, as well as the techniques to properly install their pieces which can vary depending on the mediums.
“Understanding these techniques amplifies the skills young artists will need to assist them with future exhibitions during their careers,” Martin said.
Other than being able to present their art the students learn about resources, methods, business practices and skills employed by visual artists and designers in a range of professions.
“The course provides an opportunity for students to discover how to promote themselves as well as how to find and apply to career and exhibition opportunities around the skill-sets they have acquired through their studio practice,” Martin said.
The exhibit was composed of students’ self-chosen best works, and they presented a wide range of mediums.
Malcolm Fife, junior studio art major with an emphasis on painting and printmaking, had four pieces on display in the gallery.
Fife’s pieces have a morbid touch to them and are historically reminiscent. He had a self portrait in oil on canvas, a ceramic vase inspired by the Greeks, a lithograph that brings a Latin phrase to life and a pen illustration based on the book “The Three Imposters” by Arthur Machen.
All are very diverse pieces, but they maintain the theme of the revitalization of older styles that aren’t as prevalent as they once were.
“Ink on paper is my go-to because it’s what I’m most familiar with and have used for the longest compared to other mediums,” Fife said. “The style that I use was popular around the 1900s and I’m trying to revive it.”
Fife has had work showcased before in the Murray State art galleries, but he’s never had this much work on display at once.
Fife is proud of the exhibition that he and his classmates arranged.
“We have a very good selection of work this year, and I am very pleased to have my work presented along with the work of these students,” Fife said. “I feel very honored.”
Along with Fife, fellow classmate Utarius Rose also showcased four pieces of work in the exhibit.
On display Rose had two canvas oil paintings, a relief print, a charcoal and a pencil drawing. The overall themes of Rose’s works are emotional experiences and using those around him to explain them.
“The art I create is inspired by what I am dealing with at the time, so it’s usually an emotional thing or something I’ve dealt with growing up,” Rose said.
Rose depicts friends, family members and others around him to explain moments or feelings through his art.
In one of his pieces called “Bloom,” Rose depicts a moment where he found the right major for him that would allow him to grow.
“I made this piece during freshman year, and it was inspired by my change from an art education major to an art and design major,” Rose said. “Nobody else’s judgements matter but your own, and that’s why it’s called ‘Bloom’ because if you follow the path you want to you’ll bloom into the person you want to be.”
Rose’s art is a big part of him and letting the public see it is nerve-racking for him because of how his work may be perceived.
“Criticism can be hard to take because I put so much into my art,” Rose said. “All of my art is a piece of me. It’s my feelings.”
This was Rose’s first time having his work showcased in an exhibit. Despite the nerves, he said it’s a good feeling to have his work seen and judged, and he wants the audience to take away something from the exhibit.
“I think more people should come look at art, and I don’t mean just come and appreciate it but take away that anybody can do art,” Rose said. “Art is whatever you want it to be. It’s your way of expression.”
Overall, the exhibit gave the students an experience to prepare them for their post-graduation careers.
“Many of the students have never been exhibited before in a gallery setting, so they’re getting important experiences,” Martin said. “This exhibition allowed the students to obtain an increased level of confidence and gain knowledge with the skills necessary to succeed as an artist.”